Sharif has denied 'dehati aurat' remark: PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Tuesday that his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif had denied ever referring to him as a "dehati aurat" or village woman.

Asked how he took the unscheduled remark by the Pakistan prime minister and also the outburst by Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on a controversial ordinance on tainted politicians, and whether it impacted his meeting with Sharif in New York on Sep 29, the prime minister said: "I have learnt to take all these things in my stride but Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has denied any such remarks."

A controversy had been triggered hours ahead of the Manmohan-Sharif meeting when a Pakistani journalist claimed that the latter, in a meeting with some journalists, including one from India, had likened Manmohan Singh to a "dehati aurat" for complaining about Pakistan to US President Barack Obama.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who is the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate, had majorly raised the issue at his New Delhi rally on Sunday and said Sharif had "insulted" the prime minister.